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 Charter Party terms, especially those related to weather and its effect on ship performance, are sometimes subject to wide interpretation and, therefore, end up in arbitration. A recent ruling regarding the interpretation of Douglas Sea State 3 is something you will want to understand.
In this issue of AWT Insights, Jim Sigafoose, AWT’s Marine Claims Expert, describes the ruling and its implications. This is a must read if you have an interest in Charter Party terms and claims.
Enjoy your reading. We welcome your feedback.
Skip Vaccarello |
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 Douglas Sea State 3 –
London Arbitration Award
Jim Sigafoose, AWT’s Marine Claims Expert
A recent London Arbitration Award, reported in Lloyd’s Maritime Law Newsletter 826, has dealt with the issue of Douglas Sea State 3.
In this case, for which AWT provided Optimum Ship Routing, a Voyage Performance Report and follow-up support, the vessel’s description contained the following quote:
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| "WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THIS CHARTERPARTY, GOOD WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE UNDERSTOOD TO MEAN WINDS UP TO AND INCLUDING BEAUFORT FORCE 4 AND/OR DOUGLAS SEA STATE 3." |
| In assessing the days of good weather, the tribunal stated the following: | "On the previous day, when swell of 2 metres height was recorded, the average speed was shown as being 10 knots, and on the day before that in similar conditions, 10.4 knots. However, on 19 February, again in similar recorded conditions, the ship only maintained 9.5 knots and on 22 and 23 February, in similar conditions, she made 9.6 knots.
In the light of those facts, it seemed to the tribunal right to conclude that in conditions which satisfied the requirements of the charter for the purposes of assessing performance, the ship could not do better than 10 knots. That was 1 knot short of the effective minimum warranty and on that basis the charterers’ claim was justified…" |
The clear implication is that the tribunal accepted swell heights up to 2 meters as within the good weather definition of Douglas Sea State 3. This aligns with the AWT interpretation as shown in the following discussion.
In some past issues of AWT Insights we have discussed the Douglas Sea Scale and how this relates to Charter Party terms and the determination of good weather conditions. These articles are from July 2009 and February 2010.
The Douglas Sea Scale, which describes the height of the waves and also assesses the swell, is expressed in one of 10 degrees. The original Douglas Scales used descriptive terms for the sea (wind-driven waves) and swell separately, as shown in the following table:
The main issue with the Douglas Scale is of course the lack of quantified values for the sea and swell. Over the years there have been attempts to equate the descriptions used in the Douglas Scales to precise wave heights, but according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) there is no internationally recognized definition or official status for any of the Douglas Scales.
Yet it is still a common occurrence to see Charter Party terms for good weather wave heights referenced to a particular Douglas Scale, most often Douglas Sea State 3, without any mention of specific values for sea or swell. This results in the necessity to interpret the meaning of the Douglas Scales when assessing a vessel’s performance in good weather conditions; indeed, this is one of the most contentious issues that we see between owners and charterers in speed and consumption disputes.
We have often seen it asserted that Douglas Sea State 3 means a combined wave height (combination of both wind-driven waves and swell) of 1.25 meters, including by some weather-routing organizations, while others have alleged that the meaning of Douglas Sea State 3 is a combined wave height of up to 2.0 meters. But the validity of equating the Douglas Scale to a combined wave height is questionable in light of the separate terms for sea and swell in the Douglas Scale.
In the absence of specific wording in the charter party stating otherwise, it has always been AWT’s policy to examine sea waves (wind-generated) and swell separately in keeping with the original Douglas tables. And as guidance, we refer to the following discussion taken from the WMO website:
For the length of swell waves:
Short 0 - 100 m
Average 100 - 200 m
Long over 200 m
For the height of swell waves:
Low 0 - 2 m
Moderate 2 - 4 m
Heavy over 4 m
For the height of sea waves:
Calm (glassy) 0
Calm (rippled) 0 - 0.1 m
Smooth (wavelets) 0.1 - 0.5 m
Slight 0.5 - 1.25 m
Moderate 1.25 - 2.5 m
etc.
From the above it is seen that a low swell is described as 0 -2 meters while a moderate swell is given as 2 – 4 meters. In the Douglas swell table, scale 2 is described as a long low swell while at scale 3 it is a short moderate swell. The transition from Douglas 2 to Douglas 3 is therefore a height of 2 meters; AWT considers this to be a fair and logical interpretation of the swell height for Douglas Scale 3.
Now with this latest arbitration award from London there is evidence for consensus that a 2 meter swell height is indeed the preferable understanding for Douglas Sea State 3. |
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